Sold my Golf. Bought an Alfa

[Pimpster]

Its been a while since i last posted but here's an update.

I have a red MK3 Golf GTI 8v. Sold it in March. Was up at £2995. Got £2850 within 2 days of Autotrader ad

So took my £2850 and went to Blackbushe Auction.

And bought an Alfa Romeo 156 1.8TS for £2600!!!

The Golf was 97/R with Aircon. 3 door.85k miles

The Alfa is 00/X with Climate, 77k miles and FSH.

So i made £110 after Auction fees and got a newer car with less miles and more equipment. bonza

Anyhoo. I miss the golf for its svelte looks and solid build. But god do i love the Alfa. Its quicker than the golf. Its 16v which i missed when i got the golf and it handles a lot lot better.

So kind of a win win situation.

Just thought i'd share this as i miss this forum.

[mrwotto]

Get another dub if you miss us that much

[GTI EDITION (aka LTD)]

HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME YOU TRAITOR !!!

I've heard that Alfas are quick and handle well but I would sooner have stuck with a V DUB be it  a MK1,2.,3,4 or 5  from my experience of Italian electrics etc

But seriously as long as your happy ,thats all that counts  

[Jamie]

Keep it well serviced, you should be OK, chances are you will.  Personally if I don't go for VW I go for an Italian.  Proper drivers car, worts and all.  My dad sold his Golf and bought a a 156 2.0 TS Lusso 3 years back.  It still looks great, feels great has 110,000 miles on it, but had a new engine at 55,000 and a new gearbox only last week.  There will be peaks and troughs owning one, thats what makes it a drivers car.

Before my Golf I had a Bravo.  Went like stink, faster than Golf but was a pain in the ass for problems, so I sold it and bought my second Golf which was 2 years older.

No matter what happens, you'll still get your money back in a year if you don't like it.

Happy driving

[jte]

Definately a decision made by the heart not the head.

I hope the alfa doesn't cause you too many problems.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

[Pimpster]

haha. I thought that too. haha #
Cheers for the nice comments.

So far its actually been MORE reliable than my golf was over the same ownership period     touch wood.

Its a cracking car and not nearly as bad as people reckon. Also its quality having climate rather than just aircon.

Mine may only be 1.8 but its still got 144 bhp so punts along well. I recommend them.

[Mark00024]

Hi I own a mint R reg GTI with 74K and LPG converted. I am more than happy with the car but would like something a bit quicker. Have been looking at the 156 V6 but my friend who works in a body shop recons they are basically a Fiat and build quality is very poor. He has had them in which are not even a year old and have had rusted behind the wings. I love the look of the 156 but dont want to go for a car that sheds bits in the night. What is your honest opinion of them are they built good and are they reliable.

Mark

[golfpro]

read the above mate, pretty universal amongst us all. They are just not as well built as our beloved vw's.U wnt hear of an alfa doin 250k+, a golf however...

[Jamie]

It's true about the FIAT connection, under the bonnet they say FIAT Auto on the VIN plate, but more then that, the 156 and 147 dates back to the Tipo platform.  Don't let that put you off, for a start off, Fiats handle well, but the platform has been much improved for the Alfa.  There are loads of cars that have this sort of connection, SAAB's 93 or 95??? is based on the old Vectra, the Smart forfour is based on Mitsubishi Colt (you can forget them both), so really you need to judge the car on its indivdual merits.  As far as rust is concerned, it is rare on Alfas these days, they are galvanised, so if it does go rusty, there has been a galvanising screw up, which I wouldn't imagine happens too often.